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Lake Arthur made it a bit more dramatic than usual, but held on for a 66-65 win over Alexandria on Thursday at the Barbe Southwest Shootout to remain undefeated.

ASH (4-2) took its lone lead with 55 seconds left on a steal and layup by Nuney Griffin. Lake Arthur (12-0) regained the lead on a basket by Robbon Turner. A pair free throws by Diamond Brister put the Tigers ahead 66-63 with 18 seconds left, but the Trojans pulled within one on a Adoria Butler basket. ASH stole the ball on the inbounds play and was fouled with 5 seconds left, but missed both free throws.

The Tigers led by 13 at the end of the third quarter before losing their aggressiveness in the fourth quarter. ASH, a Class 5A school, started the final quarter with a 12-2 run to get 61-59 with 3 minutes left.

“We did too much standing and dribbling sideways instead of attacking the rim,” Lake Arthur head coach Vicki Sketoe said. “We got out of what we do and that hurt us down the stretch, but we still did enough to hang in there and get the win. This will help us in the long run.”

The Tigers had a balanced scoring attack led by Deonna Brister’s 17. Diamond Brister added 16 and Turner had 15.

“For the first three quarters, we were taking the ball to the hole,” Sketoe said. “We were cutting and hitting people that were getting open. Then we got lackadaisical in the fourth quarter and tried too hard not to foul. Dribbling sideline to sideline and not coming back to get the ball hurt us. I’m proud of them for sticking in there and getting the win.”

Sketoe said the Tigers are building momentum after losing a group of veteran’s from last year’s team, which finished as state runner-up in Class 2A.

“We are getting better every day,” she said. “One of the big improvements since the season started is having more confidence. We were a little nervous to start after losing four seniors from last year. I told these girls, ‘You practiced against those girls last year, you can play with anybody.”

Griffin scored 20 points to lead ASH. Butler finished with 12 and Brit White added 11.

Lake Arthur 66 | Alexandria 65